Firefighters’ 27th annual Wildland Training Exercises

For the 27th consecutive year, firefighters from fire departments throughout the San Bernardino valley and mountains will be participating in the San Bernardino County Fire Training Officers’ Association’s wildland training exercises. The training focuses on wildland urban interface fire operations including structure defense techniques, resource utilization, equipment deployment, structure triage, safety, communications, and tactical priorities. Additionally, the training includes a 1500 foot hose lay, shelter deployment and MAST training in a realistic 4-hour training exercise.


As we have seen in the last several days, fast moving interface fires can threaten homes and property very rapidly. This training will enhance the firefighters capability to work together to defend the residents and properties of San Bernardino County.

When faced with a wildfire, firefighters employ a technique called “bump and run”. This is where a strike team of five fire engines will enter a threatened or burning neighborhood and deploy at five consecutive homes. The fire engine backs into the driveway of a home and firefighters quickly assess their surroundings. If the home has defensible space and firefighters feel it can be defended they deploy hoses and work to push the approaching flames away from the structure. Then as the firefighters push the flames around the home to the next, they return to their engine and move to the next home furthest down the line and so on. This leapfrogging allows firefighters to protect a larger number of homes with a smaller amount of resources. The training is an important annual event and allows our local firefighters to train together in a realistic environment, sharpening their skills in preparation for the upcoming high fire hazard months of summer and fall.

There will be no live fire training at this event. The exercise will be conducted at the Forest Lawn Scout Reservation 29485 Hook Creek Road, Cedar Glen 92321 between 10:00 A.M. and 2:00 P.M. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, May 7,8, and 9, 2013.

Spring Forward Into Fire Safety

It’s that time again, time to spring forward into daylight savings time. This Sunday, March 11, 2012 will be the time to set your clocks forward one hour. It is also time to replace the batteries in your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. It may seem like a bother, but it is one of the most cost effective forms of life safety insurance that you can have. On March 3^rd of this year, two adults and two children died in an early morning house fire in Ohio. Fire investigators were quoted as saying “No working smoke detectors were found.”

Did you know that 96% of the homes in the United States have smoke detectors but that in 23% of these homes the smoke detectors don’t work, primarily because of missing or dead batteries. Here in California, we have all witnessed the incredible wildland fires and extreme flames that sometimes reach to more than 200 feet in height. Yet as dangerous and deadly as these fires can be, 83% of civilian fire fatalities in the United States happen in home fires. Fires are one of the leading causes of death for children and the majority of those killed die in home fires. The peak hours for deadly home fires are between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. when people are most vulnerable. The deadly fire last week in Ohio occurred at 3:30 a.m.

Carbon monoxide is a silent killer and California Law requires homeowners to install carbon monoxide detectors in every California home. Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas that is produced from heaters, fireplaces, furnaces and many types of appliances and cooking devices.

CAL FIRE San Bernardino Unit Chief Tim McClelland says “for the cost of a few batteries, you can protect your family from the dangers of fire and carbon monoxide. It’s an investment in safety, it’s an investment in life.”

For more information about smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors you can go to www.fire.ca.gov. or http://www.nfpa.org.

Firefighters get ready for 15th Annual Wildland Training

For the 25th consecutive year, firefighters from fire departments throughout the San Bernardino valley will be participating in the San Bernardino County Fire Training Officers' Association's wildland training exercise. The training focuses on wildland urban interface fire operations including structure defense techniques, resource utilization, equipment deployment, structure triage, safety, communications, and tactical priorities. The training includes a realistic 4-hour training exercise. This type of training is an excellent example of regionalized integrated fire service operations.

When faced with a wildfire, firefighters employ a technique called "bump and run". This is where a strike team of five fire engines will enter a threatened or burning neighborhood and deploy at five consecutive homes. The fire engine backs into the driveway of a home and firefighters quickly assess their surroundings. If the home has defensible space and firefighters feel it can be defended, they deploy hoses and work to push the approaching flames around the to the next home. They return to their engine and move to the next home furthest down the line and so on. This leapfrogging allows firefighters to protect a larger number of homes with a smaller amount of resources.

The training is designed for engine company personnel and Strike Team/Task Force leaders. "This training is an important annual event and allows our local firefighters to train together in a realistic environment, sharpening their skills in preparation for the upcoming high fire hazard months of summer and fall" said CAL FIRE San Bernardino Unit Chief Tim McClelland.